Hunter update:

As of 11pm last night, from his dad:

Hunter was one good feeding away from coming come this afternoon. However, he vomited that and the next three feedings. So as of about 30 minutes ago he's back on the IV (they had removed it earlier today), and we can't try to feed him again until 7:00am, which will make for another long night.

Please pray for us as this is a disappointing development.

Hunter update

From his dad (as of 11pm last night):

Hunter is doing very well. He has fed every two hours since 4pm, which is four feedings at the time of this email, and not vomited at all! Praise God! This is the first time he has eaten and not instantly vomited since Tuesday afternoon. Also, since the surgery this morning his personality has returned to normal. He sleeps all day, wakes up to eat, and is happiest when being held.

If this continues there is a good chance he will come home tomorrow. The only other issue is that his bilirubin (jaundice) levels are high --a condition exasperated by the dehydration and malnutrition that resulted from several days of vomiting everything that entered his stomach. Before they hooked him up to an IV early this morning the whites of his eyes had become solid yellow. They may give him some light therapy, which is the normal means of treating jaundice, or they may just not do anything if he is recovering well on his own.

There is much to be thankful for. We love that little 27-day-old-guy a whole bunch, and we're relived to know he is going to be alright. Plus, tonight our whole family should get a full night of sleep. Hooray!

Thank you for your prayer.

Update on Hunter

Hunter has been diagnosed with Pyloric Stenosis. This is an enlargement of the stomach muscle that regulates the passage of food to the small intestine. Pyloric Stenosis causes Hunter to throw up, which keeps him from getting any nourishment. He had surgery this morning to correct the problem.

Update from his dad:

The surgery went well. Hunter is now sleeping and recovering from surgery back in his room at Children's Hospital. We'll try to feed him this evening (starting with a half ounce of pedialyte). If he's able to keep that down then we'll know that the surgery was a success, and he may be able to come home as early as tomorrow. If he is not able to keep anything down I am not sure what will happen next.

Please pray that he will be able to digest his food at this first post-op feeding, which should be about 4:30 pm. And pray that he will not vomit anymore as that will be a very bad sign.


Emily again: please pray for their family. Particularly pray for their daughter, almost two years old, who is staying with family friends while her parents are at the hospital.

Climbing the walls

Having an almost 10 month old gives new meaning to the phrase. He really tries to do it!

Pat pat pat

Jonathan knows a new word! I've been using "pat pat" with him to encourage a gentler sort of motion (as opposed to "bang bang", you know!) And today he demonstrated that he understands what I'm saying! He had two blocks in his hand, and was patting them on my leg. I said "you're patting my leg, pat pat", and he grinned and patted them together. This might not seem so neat, except that patting blocks together is what I've been using when I work on the concept with him. Besides, his eyes showed understanding. Does that make sense?

What a brilliant child I have. :)

Please pray for Hunter

Hunter is a three-week-old baby, the son of a friend of mine. He has not been able to keep anything down for over 48 hours now, and is not doing well. His parents took him back to the hospital last night.

Please pray for his healing, and that his parents would have peaceful hearts and clear heads.

You should go read

this.


I love reading this woman's blog...she is the mother of three boys and an infant daughter, and her writing never ceases to either amaze me or make me laugh or make me think. This particular post is inspiring, and helps me to look forward to having lots of kids, instead of being scared of the idea.

Go read it. Right now. :)

Nehemiah Institute

Anyone familiar with them? I took their "Worldview Opinion Survey" online, just to see what my results would be. After all, having had a fully Christian education, I figured I'd probably score pretty well, right?

Well. They give you a numerical score that places you in one of four categories:

Biblical Theism (this is the category you're supposed to be in!)
Moderate Christian (me)
Secular Humanism
Socialism

I scored a little too close for comfort to "secular humanism". How can that be, you ask? That was my question, too! I took a close look at exactly how they scored this little quiz. It turns out that my dismal score is a result of my politics. The Nehemiah Institute thinks that my Christian worldview is crummy because

1) I believe that the Bible is NOT the foundation of civil law and should NOT be the primary source of instruction for establishing civil government in all nations.
2) I believe that individuals should be allowed to conduct life as they choose, as long as it does not interfere with the lives of others.
3) I believe that Government should rest as directly as possible on the will of the people.

Huh.

Wow.

Someone from Malaysia reads my blog.

Picking things up

Jonathan likes to pick things up. He likes to pick up his toys. He likes to pick up Cheerios. He likes to pick up banana and avocado and smush it in his hair. He tried to pick up water (running in the sink), and was quite puzzled when it slipped through his fingers!

Elena tagged me...

so here are my rather boring responses.

Four Jobs I've Had

Pharmacy counter girl
Math teacher
Choir director
Mother (only I think this is more like a calling)


Four Places I've Lived

Tustin, CA (I was too little to remember this one, though)
Santa Ana, CA
Grass Valley/Nevada City, CA (Northern California – this is where I remember growing up. It’s absolutely beautiful with pine trees, and snow I the winter)
La Habra, CA (current residence – come for a visit!)

Four Vacations I've Taken

Fallen Leaf Lake
Fallen Leaf Lake
Fallen Leaf Lake
Fallen Leaf Lake

Perhaps this seems repetitive, but if you’d been there you’d know why we kept going back! :)

Four Vehicles I've Owned

Bicycle :)
91 Honda Civic. She was a great car and I was sorry to see her go!
Mercury Sable (I forget which year) Ugly car, and finally broke badly enough we had to get rid of it.
98 Toyota Corolla - yay for cars that never break!

Amber, want to participate?

And just for fun - see what handsome men I have in my family!

Yesterday's breakfast photo - see how much he's learning! :)

Time times two (or three or four)

I think that perhaps one of the reasons I often get to the end of my day and wonder if I've really accomplished anything, is because I have an unrealistic expectation of how much time things take. From now on I think I will double (and then some!) my estimates. :)

This morning Jonathan and I got up at 6:15am. He'd been awake for some time, but I sat him up and responded to his talking with mumbles and "umphs" for awhile before I could convince myself to actually get up. Anyway, we got up, had breakfast, gave Jonathan a bath (which was abundantly necessary after his breakfast!), and then I put him down for his nap and took a shower. By the time those things had been accomplished, it was nearly 9am.

I guess I just don't think of things taking this long! Baby breakfasts last three times as long as mine do, and get ten times as messy. Baby baths are twice as long as mommy showers. No wonder we can't seem to get to church on time! :)

Life really IS beautiful

Today has been a perfectly lovely day. Aside from a few items which were added in a fit of overestimation of the hours available, everything on my list is completed. Not only that, but completed in a reasonable amount of time, without allowing myself to be side tracked by such odious inventions as the computer (yes, please note that I am only NOW blogging!)

And the completed list is only a tiny part of why the day is so lovely. On top of that, the house is clean. You all have permission to drop by. Tonight. Not tomorrow, please, for tomorrow it will have (somehow!) magically returned to it’s former state. But tonight the dishes are done, the house is picked up, the FLOOR IS CLEAR, my desk is – well, um, we won’t talk about my desk, ok?

Jonathan and I went for a lovely long walk today, all the way to the post office and Walmart. Hurrah for exercise! It had the added benefit of allowing me to do almost all my “little bits and pieces” shopping – you know the things that accumulate over a few weeks and which you can’t get at the grocery store? And I stopped at Kohl’s on the way back to try on jeans. This almost ruined my day, but it was salvaged by the happy thought that designers are probably not mothers, and thus do not have the needed experience to know how to fit a mommy body. So. There. :)

This afternoon a technician came out (earlier than they said he’d come) to install something on our air conditioner, and Jonathan and I were presentable and so was the house. He even carried his ladder through from the front door to the patio door, and didn’t trip on anything.

After that Jonathan and I took a blanket outside to the tiny patch of grass and tree outside our front door. I settled in with a book to enjoy the sun and breeze, and he took off, puffed apple cracker in hand, to explore his world. His knees will never be the same, I fear, and his face is dirtier than it has ever been, but he sure had a good time! Who knew that leaves could be so entertaining? Now if only I could convince him that they are not good to eat.

A nice side effect of all this exploration is that he wanted a nap – thus this opportunity to play on the computer. And I don’t even have to feel guilty about it, because there is not one single (reasonable) thing that I need to be doing right now!

*happy sigh*

Red belt!

Yup, I got one! This means that I am considered "ready to test" for my black belt. I don't know exactly when the exam will be, but probably within the next few months.

The really cool thing was that on Tuesday (the night I got it) I felt like a martial artist again for the first time in way, way too long. For the last many months it seemed like something was always in the way - pregnancy, recovering from the c-section, exhaustion due to mothering an infant, shoulder injuries, etc. I just couldn't recapture the mokso focus. But on Tuesday it was there again! I hope I can maintain it now that I remember what it feels like.

It has been such a long road getting here. It is nice to have the goal in sight.

Solving crankiness with cuddles

About a week ago I realized that Jonathan was being a lot more cranky. And I was being a lot more frustrated with his crankiness. Not a good situation. So I sat myself down and did some thinking about why we were in said situation.

I think that what happened is this: Jonathan got a lot more mobile, and a lot more self-entertaining, very quickly. And as I realized that I could put him down and let him be on his own, I did. The result, I think, is that he didn't feel nearly as secure. Yes, he can play on the floor with his toys while I do other things. And he does and he should. But that kind of alone time needs to be limited...he's only 9 months old, after all! I think that I just sort of lost track of the fact that he's still a baby who needs me. And as I'm consciously choosing to remember that and act accordingly, he's being much less fussy.

It feels good to be a proactive mom. I'm spending more time playing with him on the floor - he sits in my lap and plays with toys. He's still getting lots of new experience and stimulation, but he's feeling safe and happy because he knows I'm right there with him. And we sit on the couch and cuddle and read books in the morning. And in the afternoon I try to anticipate his more fussy time by carrying him in the sling. Yes, I don't get much done around the house after 3pm...but Jonathan isn't crying, either. We're both happier at the end of the day, so I think it's a great trade-off!

Isn't it neat to see a thought-out parenting choice actually work the way you hope it will work? :)

Sweetness

When Jonathan is getting sleepy, and I've been intelligent enough to put him in the sling instead of letting him get fussy elsewhere, sometimes he'll lay his head down on my shoulder and suck on his fingers. Those are the moments when I know that I'd rather be right here doing this than anything else in the world.

Fun development!

Jonathan is enjoying time spent reading together! I’ve been trying to read to him for months, but without much interest on his part. So we’d read in 30 second bursts, pretty much, and then he’d try to eat the book. :) But lately he’s been so much more fascinated by the pictures and by my voice. So encouraging! This morning we snuggled on the couch and read (some of!) the poems in Eloise William’s Poems to Read to the Very Young. I’ve always loved that book, and it’s so fun to see Jonathan enjoying it too!

My kitchen baseboards are clean!

This makes me a successful housewife, right? ;)

In other news, my wonderful husband mopped the kitchen floor for me tonight while I put Jonathan to bed. Isn't he nice to me?